#software

Yet, I am convinced that there is a need for high quality software, and the time will come when it will be recognized that it is worth investing effort in its development and in using a careful, structured approach based on safe, structured languages. ↗

— Niklaus Wirth

#approach #based #careful #come #convinced

By the time Apple's Macintosh operating system finally falls into the public domain, there will be no machine that could possibly run it. The term of copyright for software is effectively unlimited. ↗

— Lawrence Lessig

#by the time #copyright #could #domain #effectively

While the creative works from the 16th century can still be accessed and used by others, the data in some software programs from the 1990s is already inaccessible. ↗

— Lawrence Lessig

#century #creative #creative works #data #inaccessible

In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm. ↗

— Alan Perlis

#bird #early #early bird #makes #often

The lesson to be learned from this is that it is often undesirable to go for the right thing first. It is better to get half of the right thing available so that it spreads like a virus. Once people are hooked on it, take the time to improve it to 90% of the right thing. ↗

— Richard P. Gabriel

#design

Truth can only be found in one place: the code. ↗

— Robert C. Martin

#software-craftmanship #software-design #software-engineering #design

It should be noted that no ethically -trained software engineer would ever consent to write a DestroyBaghdad procedure. Basic professional ethics would instead require him to write a DestroyCity procedure, to which Baghdad could be given as a parameter. ↗

— Nathaniel S. Borenstein

#programming #software #humor

As a rule, software systems do not work well until they have been used, and have failed repeatedly, in real applications. ↗

— Dave Parnas

#applications #been #failed #real #repeatedly

Like all software, Qmail can survive only when it keeps up with changing requirements. ↗

— Wietse Venema

#keeps #like #only #requirements #software

However, writing software without defects is not sufficient. In my experience, it is at least as difficult to write software that is safe - that is, software that behaves reasonably under adverse conditions. ↗

— Wietse Venema

#adverse conditions #behaves #conditions #defects #difficult